"Homegrown’s alright with me / Homegrown is the way it should be/ Homegrown is a good thing/ Plant that bell and let it ring." So sings Farm Aid co-founder Neil Young in "Homegrown," a song written in the early 1970s that has unofficially become the anthem of the annual fundraising concert.
Farm Aid was born in 1985 after the 12-time GRAMMY winner Willie Nelson heard Bob Dylan lament, during his Live Aid set, that something should be done to help American farmers. During the 1980s farm crisis, a confluence of factors — including drought, failed policy, mounting debt, and severe inflation — led to plummeting land values and foreclosures of hundreds of thousands of family-owned farms across rural America. A "Concert for America," as the first Farm Aid festival was dubbed, was organized in just six weeks.
Farm Aid I took place Sept. 22, 1985 in Champaign, Illinois. Eighty thousand people attended the one-day event, which raised more than $7 million. Besides Nelson, Young and co-founder John Mellencamp, other legendary artists who performed at the inaugural concert included: Dylan, the Beach Boys, Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt, Roy Orbison and Billy Joel.
Four decades on, Nelson, Young, and Mellencamp still lead this annual gathering of artists and activists — raising a ruckus and raising awareness about the plight of America’s family farmers. Dave Matthews joined the Farm Aid board in 2001 and, in 2021, Margo Price became the first female artist board member. Beyond the annual concert, the non-profit keeps the conversation about the good-food movement going year-round through education campaigns and partnerships with grassroots farm advocacy groups.
"For 40 years, Farm Aid has stood with farmers, supporting them to stay on their land even when corporate power, bad policies and broken promises make it harder to keep going," Farm Aid President Nelson said in a statement. "Family farmers aren't backing down, and neither are we."
The 92-year-old Nelson is not backing down either. The songwriter and humanitarian still leads — and inspires — the artists, advocates, audience and farmers who attend his annual, daylong event. Nelson officially opens every concert introducing the first act and closes the day with a full set that traditionally ends with a singalong by most of the artists on the bill. Over 40 years, more than 500 artists have donated their time to Farm Aid — from Don Was's all-star band that included Ringo Starr on drums, Pete Seeger making one of his final public appearances in 2013, to a surprise appearance from Bob Dylan.
"Willie's idea, from the very beginning, was to raise a lot of money and raise a lot of awareness, and that's still the through line," says Michael Foley, Farm Aid's Cultural Impact Director. "In spite of the strength of the opposition, all these artists show up every year and donate their time and talent, and they're raising money and raising awareness."
Since its inception, Farm Aid has raised more than $85 million and pushed for government policies that support family farmers and promote sustainable agriculture. The non-profit has evolved beyond its original mission to focus on education and advocacy.
With the current trade wars and their effect on the agricultural industry, Farm Aid is as important — and relevant — as ever. Farm Aid 40 takes place on Saturday, Sept. 20 at Huntington Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota's main campus in Minneapolis. In addition to regulars Nelson, Young, Mellencamp, Dave Matthews (with Tim Reynolds) and Margo Price, this anniversary edition features a stacked lineup including: Billy Strings, Steve Earle, Kenny Chesney, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Wynonna Judd, Waxahatchee, Trampled by Turtles, Eric Burton of Black Pumas and rising star Jesse Welles.
This marks the first time Farm Aid has held its daylong fundraising concert in the land of the 10,000 lakes where farming is integral to the economy. According to data from the 2024 USDA Census of Agriculture, the state boasts 65,351 farms and 25.4 million acres of farmland.
Before this year's concert, a few artists who have stood on Farm Aid's stage at least once share some of their favorite musical moments and backstage stories from America's longest-running benefit concert series. Farm Aid will livestream the full festival beginning at 11:30 a.m. CT with the Farm Aid press event at farmaid.org and on its YouTube channel.
Jeff Hanna, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
We've been in Willie's orbit since the 1970s and we were proud and grateful to be part of the first Farm Aid back in 1985. It was an incredible experience for all of us. We backed up our friend John Denver, who was a neighbour of ours in Aspen, Colorado and who we had played with often at clubs and bigger and bigger stages over the years. We also did a short Nitty Gritty Dirt Band set.
Staring out at that huge stadium and seeing the faces of all those people there for the cause of the family farmer was amazing. And, as a fan, I also witnessed great sets by Dylan, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Joan Baez … it was truly and incredibly inspiring day of music. It's a beautiful thing that Neil, Willie, and later Dave Matthews, have done with Farm Aid.
James McMurtry
My first Farm Aid performance was Farm Aid Four at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis in 1990. I've never seen so much spandex in one place before or since. I was trying to take it all in when Billy Joe Shaver came walking through the backstage sea of spandex, looking disgusted, but lending the event an air of authenticity.
When we took the stage, a pretty blonde woman introduced me to the crowd as James McMurty — employing the most common mispronunciation of my surname. I was later told that she was Nina Blackwood, and was a big deal MTV personality.
After my performance, I sat in with Nanci Griffith and totally blew the chords on one of the songs, drawing the unabashed ire of former Amazing Rhythm Aces keyboardist, James Hooker, who was backing Nanci. Fortunately, my friend, Ross Hogarth was in the truck mixing the broadcast and quickly muted my guitar channel, so only Hooker and the other 45,000 people in the Hoosier Dome knew how bad I sucked!
Steve Earle
The troubadour and country outlaw has performed at Farm Aid numerous times throughout its 40 year history and returns this year to perform a couple of two-song tweener sets. A longtime activist and passionate artist always eager to take up a plight that resonates, the singer/songwriter’s first time playing the festival was in 1986 in Austin, the same year his GRAMMY-nominated debut record Guitar Town, was released.
I played a solo set at about 9:30 or 10 o 'clock in the morning; it was in Austin at a racetrack. I performed by myself with Larry Crane, John Mellencamp's guitar player at the time. They had been pounding my record on sound checks and were playing it before John came out for his set later that night. That was where I met [Mellencamp] for the first time … on his tour bus. After that Farm Aid, I wrote the song "The Rain Came Down" because I felt weird that I didn't have a song to sing about the issue.
Micah Nelson
One of my favorite Farm Aid memories was the first time I ever played with Neil [Young] back in 2014. He randomly asked me and my brother Lukas [Nelson] if we wanted to join him at the end of his solo acoustic set and do “Rockin in the Free World.” Of course we said yes! In true Neil fashion this was like 10 minutes before he was about to go on — no run-through, no soundcheck, no plan, so no time to overthink it.
I just remember my brother and I on either side of Neil on stage trying to create a bedrock of supportive energy and the whole thing feeling incredibly natural and effortless. Big smiles all around! That was quite a plot point in the story of my life; the beginning of a long musical ride and a beautiful friendship. Here I am over a decade later typing out this memory from a hotel room, on tour with Neil.
Another iconic Farm Aid moment for me was watching all the founders: my dad, Neil, John and Dave up onstage singing “This Land is Your Land” with Pete Seeger. I remember Pete was like 1,000 years old standing up there picking his banjo and full of spunk! He even added his own new verse that ended with “New York was made to be frack-free.”
Valerie June
My favorite Farm Aid memory is from getting off the stage at Willie Nelson's Luck Ranch in Texas. Annie Nelson, his wife, was there as I put away my banjo and made space for the next performer. She loved my set and invited me to Farm Aid.
While I love Willie, Neil, John, Dave, Margo — and every star on the main stage — it's really the folks behind the scenes that work hand in hand with the local farms who keep the longevity of Farm Aid thriving. When you're there, you witness a village that can only be built by having all of the stars align — both the known and the unknown working together to create positive changes and a loving community that ripples across the nation and uplifts the entire world. Shout to Annie and all of the ladies who have been working with Farm Aid for years behind the scenes. It's a national treasure.